It is often desirable to park or store vehicles, such as automobiles and boats, in a covered or sheltered environment so as to prevent damage and wear caused by long term exposure to the natural elements. While conventional wooden or brick garages and car ports provide the desired shelter, such structures are generally quite expensive. In fact, it is often the case that construction of such a conventional garage structure costs as much or more than the vehicle that it is intended to protect.
As an alternative to such conventional garage structures, relatively inexpensive and light-weight canopy-type structures are often employed. These canopy structures are typically comprised of a light-weight internal frame and an outer covering or canopy. In general, such canopy structures provide complete or full overhead protection, while providing only part-length side wall panels. Such part-length side walls provide some degree of protection from the sun and rain, however, they often perform poorly in windy conditions. That is, these side wall panels generally extend downward and hang freely from the overhead panel and, as such, are easily moved and flopped by the wind. In light wind conditions, such movement tends to reduce the overall effectiveness of the flaps, as rain and sun are periodically allowed to pass unobstructed into the interior or protected region of the canopy. Furthermore, in high wind conditions, the movement of the side panel flaps may actually lead to them being damaged.
Therefore there is and continues to be a need for a light-weight and relatively inexpensive protective canopy structure, that includes partial side wall panels which are generally secured to the supporting internal frame structure.